The present invention relates to a product accumulator for use with a conveyor belt or similar article handling device and is particularly intended for re-circulating items carried on a through-lane belt.
The accumulator of the present invention has particular application and use in connection with cans or similar cylindrical products, such as rolls of toilet paper and the like, but is also usable with bottles (such as soft drinks or beer) or non-circular products as will be hereinafter described.
Article flow-control device unscrambling apparatus, and accumulators per se for conveyor belts are not new, and attention is directed to U.S. Patents Vickery U.S. Pat. No. 2,003,097, Osborne U.S. Pat. No. 3,104,753, Reading U.S. Pat. No. 3,342,012, Fink U.S. Pat. No. 3,604,551, and Brutcher U.S. Pat. No. 4,037,710.
It is evident that others have tried to provide an accumulator or storage space in connection with a moving conveyor belt, wherein the products carried on the belt can be temporarily stored in the event that the take-off or out-feed portion of the conveyor belt is temporarily blocked or stopped, or if the products are, for some reason, prevented from moving along the conveyor line.
It is important that the accumulator operate in such a manner that as the products arrive at the in-feed end of the accumulator (when the out-feed end is jammed or for any reason the products do not flow along the conveyor) that they be moved or circulated so as to prevent a product "lock-up" which would prevent the products from moving along the conveyor at the out-feed end once the jam or stoppage is removed.
It is particularly advantageous that these accumulators be placed selectively along a conveyor belt, and that the conveyor system need not be modified substantially to adapt the placement of the accumulator therealong.